Wednesday, March 21, 2018

The Bible says that unmarried Christians can be concerned about the things of the Lord, how they may please the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:32-35.) But what does this look like in real life?

I got the idea to record a series of short audio interviews with unmarried Christians who are using their singleness fruitfully for the Lord. My hope is that these interviews will help more singles live lives of fruitfulness.

As a test, I am producing 5 interviews, each 15 minutes long, with 5 different Christians. If they prove helpful, I will set up a web site and produce more interviews that will be available to anyone online.

The first interview is with Cyndi, a widow who is using her singleness to disciple younger Christians and serve the mentally impaired. I would greatly appreciate your feedback, both positive and negative. You can find all of the interviews at www.fruitfulsingle.com.

Also, would you share this message with any unmarried Christians you know?

Friday, March 2, 2018

With your help, I’m on a
mission to create gospel-focused clothing that Christians will want to wear,
and which will impact every non-Christian who sees it. I had some great
conversations with non-Christians as a result of my first shirt (released in
2016). But I believe my new design will be even more
effective.

Click to zoom.

If you want something
dressier than a T-shirt, no problem: this new design will again be available as
a polo shirt. If it’s too cold to wear short sleeves, no problem: it will
also be available as a standard sweat shirt, a quarter-zip “cadet collar”
sweatshirt, and a hoodie. (And if there’s some other style of clothing
you’d like to see imprinted let me know!)

If you pre-order, you’ll get
a better price than if you wait until after they’re printed. If you
pre-order, you can also be sure to get exactly the style and color you
want. You can also opt to have only the back printed if you prefer to
have a blank front.

Colors: lots of choices! Click the links below to view. Keep in mind that since the text is white and the heart is red, light colored
or red clothes will not display the design well.

Shipping: a flat $6 within
the US, regardless of how many or which kind of items you order. (If you
live locally and can get the shirt(s) from me in person, there is no
shipping charge.)

If you want to pre-order,
simply email me {daniel at evangelwear dot com} with the quantity, style, size, and color of shirts
you want. You do NOT need to pay now. But you do need to send
me your pre-order by the end of March 6.

Lastly, let me remind you of
the exponential increase in impact that comes when people wear matching
clothing at the same time. Two people entering Safeway wearing the same
design catches more eyes than two people wearing designs that don’t match.
So perhaps you might want to get shirts for other members of your family or
your church.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

If you are an unmarried Christian (whether never married, widowed, or divorced), would you take a few minutes to fill out my short survey? And please forward this on to other single Christians you know. Let's use our singleness to full advantage for Jesus!
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Saturday, January 27, 2018

"This woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did." Acts 9:36.

My friend Lu went to be with the Lord recently. You need to meet her.

I met Lu because we both served on a team of volunteer representatives for the Voice of the Martyrs from 2006 to 2012. Lu was not the most gifted of my teammates, or the strongest. Besides the normal wear and tear of 70+ years of living, she had more serious health conditions including hepatitis C. But because of her incredible drive, she accomplished more than any of the rest of us.

When VOM announced that they wanted to find churches willing
to host regional conferences around the country, only one of my team
decided to take up the challenge: Lu. She organized a VOM conference
at her church in Flagstaff, Arizona (not a metropolis), and 500 people
from as far away as Wisconsin showed up. Lu had intestinal surgery just
days before the conference but still was there in person to make
sure everything ran smoothy (and it did). She had things organized down
to how many cookies each volunteer needed to bake.

When a church in Southern Arizona asked for a VOM rep to come speak, none of the nearer reps (including myself) could find time. But Lu drove 5 hours each way, spoke, and so connected with the people that one of them became a rep himself.

The woman seemed to have only two speeds: gallop and collapse.
When she did collapse, she rebounded quickly, often within hours.

Some
hard workers are stoic or sour. Not Lu. She often signed her letters,
"Joyfully, Lu". And joy exuded from her pores. She loved whatever she
did.

Over the years we were together in the same car for at least 5000 miles, not to mention all the hours outside of the car. We faced all kinds of situations. Lu reacted to unexpected challenges and opportunities better than many people half her age. I never saw her afraid. She had an indomitable confidence in the goodness and sovereignty of God.

I worked with Lu toward the conclusion of her life, a life filled with service to Christ. Lu and her husband Dick met at Bible college and Dick planned to become a pastor. But not long after their marriage, meningitis permanently shattered Dick's emotional capacities. Lu, the "weaker vessel", had to become the strong one in their marriage. She did this with unusual grace, helping Dick to use his remaining abilities to their fullest. She was strong in a way that made the men around her better leaders, not weaker. They went on together to serve support roles in a variety of ministries, including Wycliffe, where they became friends with founder Cam Townsend and went through the jungle training camp in Mexico.

I don't even remember all of the things she did. She hosted tea parties for girls. She smuggled Bibles into China. She loved to pray, and was with me in the most powerful prayer meeting I have ever seen. She gave her wedding dress to a girl in Pakistan. She was what a normal Christian is supposed to look like.

Dick and Lu

All of these feats were fueled by a deep, daily love relationship with Jesus. These were not the works of a woman seeking glory from man or merit from God. She knew that she did not deserve Christ's love or forgiveness, and it bubbled out of her in everything she did.

The second video shows Copeland and another preacher (who also has a jet) discussing why they "need" a jet for their ministries.

The videos are sickening, but I don't share them here to bash prosperity preachers. Hopefully you are discerning enough to already know that these men are preaching a false gospel. Rather, I share these videos in order to ask whether we ourselves are guilty of using similar rationales in justifying luxury in our own lives, on a smaller scale.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Periodically I get fraudulent emails. Perhaps you do too. Since I have an online business, these often take the form of requests to buy large quantities of products I sell. I sometimes write back to the scammer to tell the scammer:

Due to the 99% chance that you are engaging in criminal activity (theft), we have no desire to do business with you. However, I do desire that God bless you. If you are indeed, as I suspect, a thief and a liar, please, give up your wickedness. Jesus will take away your bad heart and give you a new, good heart if you will allow Him. Please read a Bible and find Jesus before it is too late. All thieves and liars will go to hell. (Revelation 21:8). I don’t want that to happen to you.

But yesterday, a scammer wrote back! He said:

Thank you. I was touched by your message. Not doing this intentionally but i must live. I pray may God forgive me. If really you want me to stop let me know how you could help me finacially. Then i will promise you to you to stop.

What do you say to a guy in that situation? Most likely he's an educated but unemployed young man in Ghana or Nigeria. Here's what I told him:

Thank you for writing back. I'm sure that your life is very difficult, and I am truly sorry. What I have to say to you will sound harsh. But please read this. I say this because I do truly care about you.

You said, "I must live". You are right. But the problem is, you are thinking of the small life. You are not thinking about the big life. As long as you think wrong, you will continue to sin. Your small life is your life right now. Even if you received 1 billion dollars right now, you probably would still only live to be 90 years old. Then you would die. Your big life is your life after you die. The big life never ends. You will spend your big life either in heaven or in hell. After you die, you can never change your location. You will either be in hell forever or in heaven forever. After 10 billion years, you will still not be able to change your location.

You think "I must live". But you are sacrificing heaven in the big life to gain a few more dollars in the small life. Jesus said, "How is a man profited if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?"

You said, "I am not doing this intentionally." You are wrong. You are doing this intentionally. You don't like it; you feel guilty about it; you know it's wrong. But you are destroying your relationship with God so that you can earn a few more dollars. This is a choice you are intentionally making.

With Jesus' help, you can choose differently. Stop your stealing right now. Yes, I mean right now. This minute. Cry out to Jesus to save you and make you a new person. Contact the people you have lied to and stolen from. Confess your sins to them. Tell them you will repay the money you have stolen, when you are able. Then you can have a clean conscience to ask God to provide for your needs.

God may choose to provide food for you. Or He may let you starve to death. But even if your life ends at age 22 of starvation, it is only your small life. Better to die at 22 and go to heaven, than to live to 92 and go to hell. Jesus said, "He who saves his life will lose it. But he who loses his life for My sake and the gospel will save it."

Father God, you know "Mark's" real name. Please help him to trust You. To believe that You are good. To trust that it is better to follow You and die, than to disobey You and live. Give him the gifts of faith and repentance. Bring glory to Yourself through his life. For Jesus' sake, amen!

Do you have any other suggestions? What would you say to a person in "Mark's" situation?